We are planning on having a few (read 10 or so) rope lights strung around our tent and shade structure (and an electric kettle) and still can't figure out the best way to keep it running... So I turn to ePlaya for some advise!

The first Amazon item is an under powered non-durable overpriced type solution.

Suggest skipping buying stuff until you spend a burn researching at the AEZ - alternative energy zone and other camps. Their theory is that you will destroy your first solar-battery-charger system. If your town has a DYI solar group, that's a great approach too. And the AEZ has a message board for questions.

If you want to do something this year I would go with a deep cycle boat battery, a little red wagon for transporting it for charging it at Snow Koan Solar, and the most efficient inverter you can find (you can use the inverter in your vehicle year round), unless you have DC lights. A deep cycle battery is easily disposed of on CL if you decide you don't need it in the future. Wet cell will be cheaper, more advanced AGM may end up as part of your long term solar strategy, even for emergencies at home.

LED light strings can be .1 Watts per bulb and .1 Amp @ 110 Volts draw running total for a 100 light string, so investing in LED lights is a no-brainer and they are usable year round. You can test your run time against the lights at home and buy a second battery if needed, but 5 strings drawing .1 A each 10 hours is 5AH and a full size boat battery is 75-200AH. A marine battery box is a good idea. We have run a sound system at BM for a 4000 SF area off that size battery for 6 hours, no subs, digital amps, moderate volume, but as mentioned heating loads, like cookers, coolers, refrigerators and hairdryers will drain you dry.

It's sad enough that people are reduced to using electrical stoves at home (aside maybe from induction stoves, but even so), don't suffer that indignity on the playa especially when electricity is hard to generate, and it is better for powering your lights.

I second the idea for the deep cycle battery. They 220AH @6V (buy them as golf cart batteries at Costco) compared to a paltry 28AH and 12V on that Duracell battery system. Plus, Costco only charges $80 each. I also doubt that Duracell battery can even charge up from solar panels, because nobody would use them for that purpose. Just make sure you don't discharge the deep-cycle batteries below 50% if you want a long lifetime.

As for powering your LEDs, you'll need to do a little more thinking. You can try these kinds of methods for wiring to your battery. You'll have to do some wiring anyway to get it to work with a solar panel.

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